Conventional traction gear for footwear use a large number of individual traction elements, such as cleats, that are attached to the outsole of a shoe. The typical golf shoe, for example, includes seven cleats that are individually attached to the shoe by screwing the cleat into the mated receiving receptacle in the bottom of the footwear. Progress has been made in recent years in reducing the effort needed to attach and to remove traction elements from footwear by reducing the rotations needed to attach each traction element. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,809 describes a quick-release Q-LOK™ traction element connector. When inserted into a receptacle, a Q-LOK™ connector can be securely attached to an outsole by rotating the cleat less than a third of a turn.
Cleats receptacles are typically molded into footwear outsoles. If a cleat installer continues to twist a cleat after the cleat is fully inserted into the receptacle, the receptacle may rotate with respect to the outsole. This rotation may render the shoe unusable since the cleat can then rotate as the shoe is worn and various torques are applied to the cleat by ground contact. In addition, the cleat cannot be easily removed from the receptacle. A cleat receptacle is therefore needed that provides superior resistance to twisting in an outsole as a cleat is installed, removed or twisted by ground contact during use.